From Diamonds To Aardwolf To Elephant Shrews. What an extraordinary place to visit!

Kimberley, also known as the diamond city, is the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa and is known for its diamond mines as well as having the first stock exchange in Africa as early as 1881. This town has the most incredible history and well worth the visit. Just outside this diamond city is the something more spectacular than any gem or semi precious stone. It's an ecosystem rich in its own way teaming with wildlife that comes alive at night.

This unforgettable trip began on the 28th August 2023. It was an easy drive totalling 675km to Kimberley. Arriving in the afternoon we contemplated a quick visit to The Big hole but decided to carry on to where we were staying at Marrick Private Game Reserve that was about 15km outside of Kimberley. We was really glad that we decided to do that as unbeknown to us our friends had arranged a very important expedition for that afternoon!

Illusive Elephant Shrew!

Upon arrival we had a quick settle in and then left to go and find the Elephant Shrew. We were incredibly excited. When we arrived at the shrews hideout we sat very still and waited. We looked high and low! Every little sound caught our attention and we tried to find where it was coming from. All of a sudden the guide said look and pointed to a rock. But we were too slow. This little guy was just way too clever and fast for us.

I then decided to change my position and sat dead still. Then all of a sudden I saw movement from the rock and there it was! The illusive elephant shrew! Quickly I snapped a picture! Then I saw another! They were very fast and shy. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. What a fabulous time spent watching this incredible little creatures! What a brilliant start to a short holiday.

At Marrick Private Game Reserve they offer something very unique that you could say is a once in a lifetime experience. The night drives they offer are spectacular and you have a very successful percentage of seeing Aardwolf, Aardvark, Bat-eared fox, African wildcat, Black-footed cat, porcupine and many other species. In winter months you need to seriously have extra warm clothing! It was bitterly cold!

Our fist night out I think I will remember for the rest of my life. What an experience! it wasn't long and we saw an Aardwolf. I don't think I have ever seen one in the wild before. It just stood in the road watching us.

That night was saw 3 (three) Aardwolf, a Bat-eared Fox and an African wildcat. I never dreamt that I would see as many Aardwolf as we did.

The Big Hole

The next day we decided to visit the Big Hole and learn about the history behind this fascinating town and its diamonds.

Arriving at the Big hole you will find parking opposite the "old town". Walk under the road to the visitors centre and there you can buy tickets to enter. I would recommend the tour. It is wheelchair friendly and the cost is as follows:

Adult - R100

Child - R60 (4 to 12 years)

Family of 2 Adults and 3 children (4-12 years) - R320

Pensioner - R80 only Mondays

Student -R80 ( bring student card)

Kimberley is one of the most unique and authentic historical destinations in South Africa, because of the Kimberley diamond mine, which occupies a surface of 17 hectares, 463 meters wide, for a depth of 240 meters, and is used to be active since 1817 to 1914. The Big Holes is considered for one of the deepest cavities excavated by man with a depth of 200 m2 ( https://thebighole.co.za).

Diamonds found in the Kimberley area had been formed in vertical pipes and through years of erosion they came to the surface. During the diamond rush five massive holes were dug along these kimberlite pipes. The biggest of all these holes was the Kimberley Mine. By depth of 1,097m and had yielding some 3 tons of diamonds.

After visiting the mine you can walk through the "Old Town". It was great fun and saw very interesting shops and underwear.

Mokala National Park

After a morning visit to the Big Hole were decided to spend the Afternoon at SanParks Mokala National Park just outside of Kimberley.

All I can say is WOW, WOW, WOW! This gem of a park really was full of great sightings!

As we entered the park it was just sighting after sighting.

The size of the park is 26,485 Hectares and was established on the 19 June 2007 so it's relatively new. In the Park are 23 species of Mammals including Buffalo, Roan antelope, White Rhino, Blue and black Wildebeest, Tsessebe, Brown Hyena and many more.

The bird life there is also something to behold!

What many do not know about Mokala is that they have what some call the "witgat" zebra. This is due to the Quagga Project was started in 1987 and is an attempt to bring back the quagga that is extinct and reintroduce it back into its former habitats within South African reserves. By selective breeding from a selected founder population of southern Plains Zebras an attempt is being made to retrieve at least the genes responsible for the Quagga's characteristic striping pattern.

Mokala zebras exhibit reduced striping in almost the same way as the Quagga. This is why the Mokala's zebra are known as the witgat or white-backside zebra.

After watching some zebra we found a lovely hide and decided to go in and see what we could see. While we sat there we had some great bird sightings and got to enjoy watching two warthogs having a mud bath.

After our fantastic afternoon at Mokala it was back to Marrick where another night drive awaited us.

This time is was much colder than the night before. It was freezing but well worth it!

Birding of a lifetime!

The next morning it was an early start to do some birding. Our first stop was a private small reserve that a birding guide had arranged for us to visit. We had the greatest time there! The waterbird life is quite spectacular. Then we went on to visit Kamfers dam which is located 6km north of Kimberley. According to Birdlife South Africa (birdlife) At least 63 waterbird species have been recorded at Kamfers Dam, and 243 species have been reported during SABAP2. The most abundant waterbirds in recent years are the Lesser Flamingo, Greater Flamingo and the Grey-headed Gull. The highest number of waterbirds counted was 84,919 individuals in 2006. Of these 81,664 were Lessor Flamongos.

African Marsh Harrier and the Chestnut-banded Plover occur at Kamfers Dam. the dam also occasionally holds large numbers of Black-necked Grebe and the South African Shelduck.

If you are looking to do some great waterbirding, Kimberley is the place to be.

Although our Kimberley visit was a short trip, we had such a great time with memorable experiences. We loved it so much that we decided to include Mokala in our December trip. We cannot wait to see what that adventure will bring!